Douglas



(No Model.)

A. WAMBSGANSS.

DEVICE FOR REGULATING POSITION 0F HEIGHT 0F HAILS OVER IUINT SLEEPERS. I(Application fileq. Dec. 23, 18974) Patented July 5, I898.

U ITED ST TES PATENT j rrrcn.

ALBERT WAMBSGANSS, OF FRANKFORT, GERMANY, 'ASSIGNOR TO SHOLTO- IDOUGLAS, OF BERLIN, GERMANY.

DEVICE FOR REGULATING POSITION OF HEIGHT OF RAILS OVER .IOINT-SLEEPFRS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 606,697, dated July 5,1898. Application filed December 28, 1897. Serial No. 663,164. (Nomodel.) Patented in Germany November 26, 1896, No. 95,448.

T0 at whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT VVAMBSGANSS, a subject of the King ofPrussia, Emperor of Germany, and a .resident of Frankfort-onthe-Oder,Germany, have invented a new and Improved Device for Regulating thePosition of Height of Rails Over Joint-Sleepers, (for which I haveobtained a patent in Germany, No.95,4=48, dated November 26, 1896,) ofwhich the following is a full and clear description.

The weakest point in a track is, as is known, the joint. Great attentionhas been paid for a long time to improving the same, as, first, theexpensive destruction of the rails starts from the joints; second, theshocks caused by the latter are disagreeably felt, and, third, thelocomotives and cars suffer a great deal from said shocks. A reallysatisfying construction doing away with these drawbacks hasnot yet beenconstructed, the reason being that the causes producing the destructionof the joints had not been completely revealed. The drawbacks inquestion cannot be overcome unless said causes are fully known, which,however, is the case at this present time.

It is now known that the shocks are produced not so much by the freespaces between the rail ends or joints as by the following circumstance:When the wheels of the locomotives and cars pass over the rails, themiddle sleepers are less heavily loaded than the j ointsleepers, and thelatter are consequently pressed deeper into the ballasting than are theother sleepers mentioned. Owing to the elasticity of the rails thejoint-sleepers are raised into their former or normal position instantlyafter the wheels have left them, and they are thus powerfully hammereddown into the empty spaces below them as soon as another train passesover the respective track. The difierence in height resulting from theoccurrence just stated between two neighboring rail ends is the firstcause for the shocks, the other cause being the finally remainingdeformation or bending resulting from the rail ends or joints being bentdown hundreds or thousands of times. If the joint-sleepers I can beprevented from sinking into the ballasting deeper than the othersleepers, the

change in the position of height of the railends and the arising ofshocks will be prevented too.

In the method of keeping the track in order as carried outhitherto thereis known but one means for doing away with the sinking of thejoint-rails, said means consisting in boxing the ballast or gravel belowsaid sleepers by aid of a boxer or similar tool. This means, however, isfar from being perfect, as the compressed gravel formed by the powerfuldownward movement of the sleepers and representing a practically solidsupport is thence no longer used as such, there being after the boxingthe fresh gravel between the compressed one and the said sleepers. Thefresh gravel, although being somewhat compressed by the boxing, is farfrom being as strongly compressed as the old gravel. It becomes so onlyafter some time, but during this time, just Y in consequence of thegravel becoming'compressed, the old drawback again makes itsappearancei. e., the rail ends give way under theload of the train,shocks arise, and the joints are finally destroyed.- Y Y The purpose ofthis invention is to overcome all the drawbacks afore spoken of nottemporarily but lastingly, this object being attained in general byregulating not the position of 'height of the sleepers with regard tothe ground but the position of height of the rails with regard to thesleepers. The support'formed by the compressed gravel is not rendereduseless by a layer of fresh non-compressed or'but slightly-compressedgravel, but is further used as a support for the sleepers also after thelatter have sunk so much as to necessitate a change for the better inthe position of height of the rail ends or joints. For this purpose Imake use of adjustable wedges or wedge-plates located between the railsand the sleepers, as is more fully described hereinafter.

In order to make my invention more clear, I refer to the accompanyingdrawings, in which similar letters denote similar parts throughout theseveral views, and in which- Figure 1 is a vertical cross-sectionthrough a rail and bed-plate or a rail-chair, the latter being supportedin known manner by a sleeper and the wedge or wed ge-plateaforementioned being located upon the bed-plate or in the chair. Fig. 2is a horizontal section through a rail, and Fig. 3 is a side view of mynovel device seen from the inner side of the track.

The regulating-wedge or wedge-plate Z) is arranged upon a bed-plate a,fixed to the sleeper A. Said wedge or wedge-plate supports the rail 13.The ends of the rails are connected with each other in known manner byfish-plates e and bolts f, and each rail is connected to the bed-plate0. by clampingplates 0, the latter in their turn being held by bolts (Zand nuts (1 and taking with suitably-located projections 0 into recessesI), provided in the bed-plate I).

hen the joint-sleeper A has sunk, which in consequence of the constantwatching and supervision can happen for a few millimeters only, thewedge-plate Z) is driven between the rail 13 and the bed-plate a in sucha direction and for such a length (the nuts d having of course beenunscrewed prior thereto and the clamping-plates 0 having been taken offthe bolts (7) that the rail assumes its former or normal position ofheight. Thereafter the plates 0 are again fixed by the nuts so as tosecure the wedge in its position by the projection c, as described.

According to experience with the novel device, the first readjustment ina track with a medium communication is necessary after about threemonths, although on constructin g the track every sleeper has beenproperly boxed. The second readjustment is to he made after about sixmonths. The wedge being comparatively long the boxing of the sleeperscan be suspended for about two or three years, and then only the wedgeis dis placed in the reverse direction, so as to reassume its originalposition. The middle sleepers need not be reboxed at all, which is apoint of very great importance and very significant for the value of theinvention. The necessity of driving the wedge home, so as to raise therail or, more precisely, to lower the sleeper and press the latter morestrongly upon the compressed gravel, is indicated by the sound of a blowproduced with a hammer upon the free end of the wedge. The readjustmentof the latter requires less than fifteen minutes and may be effected byan unskilled hand.

The advantages offered by the method and means of regulation abovedescribed consist thus in, first, a diminution in the costs ofmaintenance of the track to about a half by preserving the rail ends andfish-plates and reducing the time of work, and, second, a preservationof the locomotives and cars by enabling the same to roll smoothly overthe joints without being exposed to shocks.

Having now described my invention, what I desire to secure by a patentof the United States is In a railway-track, the combination with thejoint-sleepers and the rails, of displaceable wedge-like plates placedbetween said parts, recesses provided in said plates, clam ping-platestaking over the feet of the rails and means for securing the saidclamping-plates in position, for the purpose as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

ALBERT XVAMBSGANSS.

Vitnesses:

CHAS. II. DALE, HENRY IIASPER.

